Combellack, William E.
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Combellack, William E.
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Retires From a
Business-Ministerial
Career .Df;J...Z/&1
EV. W. Ernest Combellack comes
from a long line of Methodist ministers. He is in fact the fifth generation
all of whom, except his father, were Local P reachers. Early Methodism relied
heavily upon such ministers and it is unlikely there would have been a United
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Rev. W. Ernest Combellack
The fifth generation of Methodist
preachers.
Methodist ChUI·ch today if it had not
been for them. As the name "Combellack" indicates, Ernest has Cornish parentage. In fact he was born in Cornwall
and was brought at the age of one to
the Port Sanilac Charge in the Detroit
Conference .where his father, Rev. William
Combellack, was appointed in 1908.
Currently se1-ving the Quincy Fisher
Hill charge in the West Michigan Conference, Mr. Combellack entered the ministry following a business career. After
graduating from Stambaugh High School
and Cleary Business College in Ypsilanti, he was employed as cost accountant
for a manufacturing company in Middleville. His interest in the work of the
church was always strong and he served
as L ay Leader of what was then known
as the Albion-Lansing District and for a
time as Associate District Lay Leader of
the Grand Rapids District.
In addition to his experience as a son
of the parsonage, he served for 18 months
as assistant to the pastor of the Hastings
Circuit while employed with the Middleville company. There was too much
preacher-blood in his veins to resist the
urge to become a full-time minister a nd
he was appointed to the Springport church
in 1959. In 1961 ad 1963 he was ordained
Local Deacon and Local Elder respectively. Other churches served besides his
present appointment were J ackson First
as associate and DeWitt.
Something was added to his ministerial
tradition when he married the daughter
of a Methodist minis ter, Rev. Thomas S.
Bottrell, a member of the Detroit Con~. and the Combellacks' d aughter
Joyce manied Rev. David I. Lutz, currently pastor of the Berrien Springs United Methodist Church. While visiting
Cornwall last summer, the Combellacks
were shown a copy of preaching assignments of the Wesleyan Church da ted 1864.
Among the names of the preachers was
that of Mr. Combellack's grandfather.
Bes ides his activities as an active layman in the church, he has given significant service to the conference since becoming a minister. His experience in the
business world made him a valuable asset as a member of the Conference Board
of Pensions and as a trustee of the
Michigan Christian Advocate, positions he
has held since 1946 and 1947 respectively.
He also served on the conference Board
of Missions.
Following retirement this June, Rev.
and Mrs. Combellack plan to live in Corunna and will spend their summers at
their cottage on Wilkinson Lake in Barry
County. His desire to serve as a minister
continues a nd he will be available to fill
in for ministers during their vacations
or at other times.
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Combellack, William E.